‘Imposing sanctions against Russia isn't a good approach’

Ukrainian soldiers man a checkpoint near the village of Chongar, near a Crimea region border March 10, 2014.(Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko) / Reuters

Sanctions will create trouble for the countries imposing them, for European countries and NATO, as well as for the target of these sanctions, for Russia, Alain Corvez, a former adviser to the French defense and interior ministries, told RT.

Corvez argued that sanctions would not help to resolve the
Ukrainian crisis and that to find a way out, negotiations must be
held.

RT:The French foreign minister said
sanctions against Russia could be imposed this week already. Do
you see the restrictions coming so soon?

Alain Corvez: I didn't know that the French
Minister of Foreign Affairs said that. But I think that sanctions
are not a good approach. They will make trouble for the countries
which imposed them, for European countries, NATO and for the
victim of these sanctions, for Russia. Already many Europeans say
that sanctions are not a good idea. It is difficult to make any
predictions; European diplomacy can take any decision. I think
that it will be difficult for them to impose sanctions so fast.
There haven’t been any negotiations with Russia yet.

RT:If the EU imposes asset freezes and visa
bans against Russia, what effect will it have on the crisis in
Ukraine?

AC: These measures will of course make trouble
for Russians who want to travel to Europe just because it will be
impossible for them. I have the information that this decision
has not been made. Of course, the sanctions will not help to come
out of the crisis. We must talk and talk seriously. Two points of
view are absolutely different, of Russia and Western countries,
USA and European countries. There is a danger of war. We must
hold the negotiations, diplomacy must play its role. We must find
a decision. Now we only hear about the interests of Europe but we
don’t think about the interests of Russia.

RT:The EU parliament has dismissed the
upcoming referendum in Crimea as illegitimate. But it's not the
first case of regions seeking self-determination in Europe. Why
no support for the Crimeans?

AC: You know, this is the law of the strongest.
I have written about this in my article. The French writer La
Fontaine has written about this in his fable “The wolf and
the lamb” published in the 17th century. This is the law of
the strongest and this law is always the best. This is the
occasion. The European Union accepted Kosovo but it is against
the referendum in Ukraine. The situation in Ukraine is not
discussed seriously. It is discussed in the antagonistic way, by
presenting two absolutely different versions of what is
happening. It seems that the European countries do not even try
to find the acceptable decision for both sides in this conflict.

RT:Russia's been struggling to draw
Europe's attention to the issue of neo-Nazi groups gaining
momentum in Ukraine. Why is it being downplayed by the EU
leaders?

AC: Because they are anti-Russian. I have been
today at the meeting in the military school organized by the
Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defense. It was the
debates, called “The Ukraine after Maidan.” But it was
not really debates, four people participated there, all of them
anti-Russian, expressing anti-Russian ideas. One of the experts
asked them why you do not take under consideration the position
of Russia. During these debates, which were not really the
debates, it was an accusation of Russia, four so-called
strategists, all French, one of Ukrainian origin and one of
Georgian origin, said things like Putin is a brutal dictator, he
will destroy the Ukraine, and that is why we cannot accept the
position of Russia. It was a caricature. I hope that people will
take under consideration global geopolitics and see that it is
not as simple as deprived Ukraine. It is the attack of the USA
and its allies to prevent Russia becoming a great power again.
While all the European politicians and experts, like those
mentioned, will support the idea that the Ukraine must become a
part of European Union and NATO it is not possible to discuss
anything. The facts are being falsified. They do not want to
accept that Nazi groups came to power in the Ukraine, they say
that they are democrats, that it is all Russian propaganda.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.